SoftBank eyeing 20 percent stake for $1 Billion in Micromax : Reuters

Micromax, one of India’s biggest names when it comes to indigenous smartphone manufacturers, may soon see as much as $1 Billion being invested into it by a consortium of over 20 investors led by Japan’s Softbank, a Reuters report stated.

If the investment goes official, Micromax would see itself valued at a whopping $5 Billion, a first for any consumer electronic startup from India. It would however still be 1/8th of one of its closest competitors, Xiaomi, which is valued in excess of $41 Billion.

Sources tell Reuters that the stake sale may be anywhere between $800 Million to $1 Billion. Micromax’s current investors include private equity firms Sequoia Capital and TA Associates.

Micromax, which started off as a spare parts manufacturer for the then available Nokia handsets, entered into the handset business itself in 2008. And ever since the company entered, it has seen exponential growth due to its extremely aggressive and competitive pricing model.

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In fact, a research report released by research firm Counter Point Research this year, pegged Micromax as India’s largest handset vendor in the fourth quarter of 2014, taking up that spot from Samsung. However, it continued to remain behind Samsung in terms of Smartphone shipments.

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